FIX SYSTEM TO COLLECT ALL FINES DUE

A red warning flag was just raised about America's inept efforts to monitor and enforce collection of federal criminal fines and restitution payments to crime victims.

Let's hope U.S. government officials were paying close attention.

Henry Wray, director for administration of justice issues for the U.S. General Accounting Office, gave the bad news to the U.S. Senate Governmental Affairs Committee.

The raw numbers are shocking: Uncollected fines and restitution payments in federal courts rose from $300 million in 1985 to nearly $4 billion so far this year.

Nearly $2 billion in fines and restitution payments were ordered just in financial fraud cases since 1988. Only $52.3 million has been collected, just 2 1/2 cents on the dollar.

But the data need careful interpretation.

Wray said judges often order excessive fines and restitution payments, without realistic hope of collection. Also, many debtors are in prison, unable to earn money.

Thus, these numbers hide the true extent of the government's failure to adequately track what is owed and to collect money from those who could afford to pay, but don't.

Wray and others testified about a near-total lack of coordination among government agencies, making it tough to tell how much is realistically collectible.

"We still have an archaic, decentralized, nonsystem, which allows many criminal offenders to escape paying what they owe their victims and the federal government," said Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D.

That's totally unacceptable.

Corrective action is a must, and is long overdue. Major hopes rest with the National Fine Center, authorized by Congress in 1987 to unify collection efforts.

Regrettably, startup isn't planned until Sept. 1, 1996. The initial concept was much too complex and had to be redesigned, causing delay. Also, the first phase won't be automated, which will limit efficiency and boost paperwork.

Fixing this financial mismanagement ought to be a top priority for all concerned. The government urgently needs money from fines to reduce the burden on taxpayers in financing vital programs.

Injured or ripped-off crime victims deserve financial restitution. When a judge orders a fine or restitution, criminals shouldn't be able to laugh, knowing they may not have to pay because government officials are asleep at the switch.